I suppose when one doesn't post for almost a year, there's a lot to cover. My husband and I bought a farm, added another horse and we're in the process of adding a baby to the mix!
Al was a rock star last year and hunted at least weekly. We joined Green Spring Valley Hounds and discovered some of the most beautiful territory you could imagine, well and thoroughly paneled. There are definitely a few jumps that put my heart in my throat! Like that stone filled one that I didn't realize was several feet deep with a drop on the other side until I was on top of it. Yee haw! Al's still a bit green, but I was very proud of his performance this year. He was bold and forgiving, and even though I had a couple of unplanned dismounts, they were either rider error (got caught tired and not anticipating the hard left after that downhill coop, oops) or in one case, very bad footing. That one is a story unto itself seeing as I managed to remove the entire bridle on my way down. Luckily we were both uninjured. "LOOSE HORSE!!"
Below Al and I at the end of 2013-2014 season joint meet at EHHC.
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I picked up a 4 year old at Finger Lakes last year to bring along named Rosie (Ten Purposes). She is a big girl and seemed very underdeveloped, so I threw her out for a year to grow up a bit more and I intended to start her on hound walks this fall. She's a total sweetheart and super laid-back. Not a great mover in the traditional sense but catty and knows where her feet are on hills and uneven terrain. It's really fun to watch her twinkle toe dance around the pasture while Al and Rosie thunder along like buffalo.
Now, I find myself three months pregnant and not too enthused about working with a greenie at this point so it looks like she'll have another year to fill out. She's at least 16.2 maybe 16.3 and deceptively large. When you see her in the field she looks like a pony. Get up next to her or see her standing next to Al and her size is striking. She's a pretty liver chestnut the fine, fine color of dirt! My "I hit the snooze button too many times" or muddy day hunt horse. Wish I had some better recent photos, but here she is:
My barn is going up next month and I couldn't be more excited! Three stall center aisle with loft and tack room and tons of storage. Next up, tilling up the sacrifice paddock to even it out and planting grass to have a bit of a ring to work in. I'll get some photos up when it's finished.
I had Roxy looked over by another vet to see if there was anything we might be able to do for her hocks. He suspects it might have been a fracture that caused the sudden arthritis and referred me to a Dr. Spurlock. I'm waiting a bit longer until my stalls are ready before I take her in since there could be a surgical option that would require stall rest. She's been enjoying her last 2 years of early retirement. She's pasture sound for now but if I could get her back to hunting sound... well, wish me luck!
